Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
September 24, 2023

EY UK Selects Old White Guy to Succeed Another Old White Guy As MP

The Financial Times is reporting today that former head of audit Hywel Ball is EY UK’s new managing partner “despite widespread speculation that it would be the first of the Big Four accounting firms to appoint a female leader.” That’ll teach y’all to speculate.

Ball, a 35-year veteran of EY, beat out chief operating officer Lynn Rattigan and global accounts chair Alison Kay, both of whom were favorites for the position.

“The number of women who had been sounded out for the job by EY’s global board had raised expectations that the firm would be the first of the Big Four — which includes rivals PwC, Deloitte and KPMG — to be run by a woman in the UK,” writes FT.

“Lots of people at the top wanted a woman [to take over],” said a senior executive close to EY. “But EY’s global firm thinks audit firm separation could be the defining issue [for the UK business] for the next five years.”

In other words, forget about chicks, we’ve got a status quo to protect. ICYMI, regulators across the pond have had a major hard-on for breaking up the Big 4 oligarchy for some time now.

The EY UK managing partner post opened up this past January when then-MP Steve Varley stepped down (read: noped on up out of there) after nine years in the position. He remained with the firm despite abandoning his spot at the top, taking on the brand new role of Global Vice Chair – Sustainability instead.

Soon after the Varley announcement, my esteemed colleague Bramwell addressed EY UK’s “waffles or pancakes” problem and expressed optimism that the firm might woman up in filling the MP spot writing:

Naming a woman as its next U.K. chairman/managing partner would be a step in the right direction for EY for a couple of reasons:

And this, kids, is why we’re stingy with the optimism.

Hywel Ball will assume the position July 1. Better luck next time, ladies.

Latest Accounting Jobs--Apply Now:

Have something to add to this story? Give us a shout by email, Twitter, or text/call the tipline at 202-505-8885. As always, all tips are anonymous.

Related articles

Yellow dog on a sunny autumn day

Friday Footnotes: Remembering Legend Sid Kess; Andersen’s Doing Great; Poland Banned Deloitte From Auditing? | 9.22.23

People Ken Miller set to retire after more than three decades of service [Virginia Tech] After more than 35 years of dedicated service to Virginia Tech, Ken Miller has announced his retirement. Miller was appointed vice president for finance in April 2020 and also serves as the university treasurer. In these roles, he provides financial […]

illustration of a group of people leaving their jobs

Now the Profession Is Losing Experienced Accountants Too

Here we are again talking about the accountant shortage. Don’t blame me, blame WSJ. Mark Maurer at Wall Street Journal wrote today about a young man named Omer Khokhar who realized after six years in accounting that he was done. The article title: “Job Security Isn’t Enough to Keep Many Accountants From Quitting.” Ruh-oh. The […]